10 Things You Didn't Know About the Cartier Love Bracelet

1. The Cartier Love bracelet was created in 1969—at the height of the hippie age—in the jeweller’s New York workshops by designer Aldo Cipullo, who went on to design the iconic Juste un Clou bracelet two years later.

2. Cipullo produced the bracelet within a year of joining Cartier. He was allegedly inspired by chastity belts of yore.

3. At the launch, Cartier stipulated that customers were not allowed to buy a Love bracelet for themselves; they could only buy it for their loved ones. That rule has since been abolished, thankfully.

4. In 2016, the Love bracelet was the top-most searched jewellery item on Google, hitting 350,000 searches a month, according to a study by Karus Chains.

5. The earliest Love bracelets came with gold plating but this must‑have trinket is today made in solid gold (yellow, pink or white), with or without diamonds.

6. The Love bracelet is secured—and can only be removed—using a gold screwdriver that comes with it and is meant to be worn day and night, for all of eternity, symbolising the attachment between two parties. According to Vogue, New York hospitals keep a screwdriver handy in case of an emergency that requires the Love bracelet off.

7. With its oval shape, which consists of two C-shape halves secured using two screws, the Love bracelet established a new design code—one that places the emphasis not simply on aesthetics but on embracing the wrist as closely as possible.

8. The screw motif links the Love bracelet to the Cartier Santos watch, which also features this motif on its bezel, hence underscoring its androgynous charm.

9. Celebrity couples that have famously worn the Cartier Love bracelet include Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw, Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti, as well as Frank and Nancy Sinatra. More recently, it’s been seen on the wrists of the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Kylie Jenner and Pippa Middleton.

10. The new Cartier Love bracelet is 5mm slimmer than its predecessor and, as it looks more delicate, is perfect for stacking or mixing and matching. It also only comes with one side opening, compared to the previous two.